Re: Questions about pennies

["James K Droscha" <jdroscha@...>]

--- In piecepack@yahoogroups.com, Martin Willett <mwillett@h...> 
wrote:
> As a relative newbie, I don't know if this has been discussed much, 
> but I'm just curious --
> a) was it deliberate that the coins as designed and (relatively)
> standardized are the same diameter as pennies?

   Not exactly deliberate.  The very first piecepack designs (on 
paper) were very small and compact... all the parts fit into a box 
the size of a deck of cards, so the coins were only 1/2" diameter.  
After building a few at that size, I realized it would be great for a 
travel-size piecepack (and I have made a few for that purpose) but 
for regular play, the pieces needed to be larger.  Hence, I 
estblished 2" tiles and 3/4" coins as the standard.  It occurred to 
me at that time that pennies are also 3/4" diameter, but it wasn't 
exactly on purpose.

> b) are a lot of the DIYers using pennies and, if so, how are they
> marking them for denomination and orientation?

   I have not seen any made with pennies; most homemade piecepacks 
use 3/4" wooden discs available at the local craft store.  But 
presumably, they should work fine with a 3/4" diameter sticker on 
each side.  Not sure how they would work for flickers, such as Soccer.

> c) for those who are also into "Where's George" and the world of
> coinage, at what point has a penny been made "unspendable" (crushed 
> by a train? painted white?) and therefore a federal crime has been 
> committed?

   http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=77334

Cheers,
James